Chapter 15: Making Friends is Hard

The next day, Kira's day of racing was cut short when she wrecked her bike in the second race of the day. The course had looped through a wooded area and she hadn't seen a root sticking up out of the ground until it was too late. With just a little more than a bruised ego, Kira decided to load her bike onto the back of her truck rather than staying for the third and final race of the day. All in all, her first weekend of racing hadn't been that bad; though she wished that she'd practiced more with off track racing

Once she was home, she stowed her racing motorcycle away in the garage and decided to return to her books to go ahead and get her next chapter in her science class started. While science wasn't exactly her favorite subject, she knew that she needed to study it just a bit more since it didn't come to her as easily as many of her other classes did. She was still debating her major but she knew that whatever she decided, it wasn't likely to be science-based. And she did need to start thinking about it. She didn't want wait around and realize that she'd not taken the right classes early on for whichever degree she chose to pursue.

She had gone to watch Ben at the courthouse a few times and she had become fascinated with the legal process. To see a person's guilt or innocence being put on trial only to be determined by complete strangers was very interesting. One thing that she had noticed, however, was that many of the people who appeared to have less means for defense than others were forced to use young, inexperienced public defenders. Quite a few of those defenders came across as nervous and ill prepared. Nothing like how Ben or any of the other lawyers appeared while laying out their cases for their clients. Kira also noticed that the people who had to resort to the younger lawyers were much more likely to either be found guilty or to take a plea deal. She couldn't help but wonder if they truly were guilty or if they were only the victims of a poor defense.

Of course there was one type of defendant that she noticed far more than the others; the homeless. She'd watch as time and time again someone would be called before the court with only a public defender to speak for them after being caught stealing or breaking into homes or businesses. Kira knew that for many of those crimes, the individual was only trying to survive in a world that offered them few choices. If you don't steal for food or warm clothes in bad weather, if you don't bust a window open to crawl into an old abandoned warehouse, if you don't bend some of the rules of society, you die. Where was the mercy of the court for those people?

Time and time again, she watched as they were sentenced to jail but when she did the math of when many of them would get out, she couldn't help but notice that quite a few of them would be released from jail just in time for the next winter or right in the middle of the harshest part of it. A time when there would be few options for survival on the streets. Did no one care about those people who had no where but the streets to live? She felt that if the judge wanted to send them to jail the least he could do would be to have them stay there during the harsher months rather than releasing them only to suffer out in the cold.

The more that Kira sat in the courtroom while observing the more she wanted to help those poor unfortunate souls who would never find sympathy from the privileged and bored jurors who resented having to take time from their lives to pass judgment on the dregs of society. In her mind she'd frequently hear Shawn's voice saying the same things that were clearly written on those jurors' faces while they listened to the cases against the defendants. In fact, many of those things were what she'd heard him say about her; both to her face and to Ben when neither thought that she was around to hear them.

After being a member of the family for a year, it was clear that the only one who wanted her at the house was Ben himself. Well, him and the staff who kept the house up. Ben's family, however, would still prefer if she disappeared never to be heard from again.

The only time that either Shawn or Elizabeth actually spoke to her seemed to be when she and Ben were expected to go to a rubber chicken dinner for one charity event or another where it was clear that the good of others was never the true purpose of the night. No, they were events where the sole reason to go was to be seen in your most glamorous outfits and make sure that your picture was taken with influential people of society. They didn't care if the money that they'd paid to attend the function went to help those in need or not. The maladies of the poor were just excuses to be seen in their finest outfits that cost more than most people made after a month of hard work.

After hours of studying, mostly science but for her other classes as well, Kira joined Ben for dinner as she did on most nights. The only time that they didn't eat together were the nights that he was working late at the office or was out of town on a case.

The dinners had become a bit special to Kira. It was the one time of the day where she'd let her guard down and truly connect with another human being. He'd ask about her day and actually listened as she discussed her classes and even when she'd talk about practicing her riding while out on a new trail. Ben never pushed her to share more than she wanted which in turn caused her to tell more than she'd planned nearly every single time.

In return, Ben would share bits of his own day. He'd not say anything that would be considered confidential between himself and his clients but he did share various anecdotes about some of cases after they had been settled. One subject that he seemed to try to steer clear of was his own children. Kira could tell that their opinion and disapproval of him and how he spent his own free time hurt him much more than he'd admit. Here he had a fine home and a successful career but the one thing that he couldn't buy was the admiration of those closest to him.

During dinner, Kira shared how she had placed third in the final race the day before but that she had wrecked in the second race when she'd returned for the second day racing which had disqualified her from any other races of the day. Still, considering that it had been her first real try at racing, she thought that she'd done well. Ben agreed and assured her that she'd only get better, especially with the dedication she had shown while riding.

"So, did you meet any friends while you were out?" Ben had hoped that Kira would have sought out a few once she'd started school but instead she had continued to keep herself closed off. She was too content to stay focused on her studies, choosing to only break away to practice her riding on most days. He really wanted Kira to break out of her shell and he'd hoped that racing would help her do it.

"Not really. I came on home after the races. I didn't see much point in hanging around afterwards." Kira chose not to say that she'd gone to a small bar where she'd noticed that many of the other racers had gone to after the race the day before. Instead she shrugged as she pushed her food around on her plate.

Helen, the cook, still had the tendency to put far too much food on her plate; insisting that she need to put more meat on her bones. After a year of eating the woman's cooking, she weighed more than she ever had. Still, even now that Kira no longer looked as gaunt as she had when she'd first arrived at the house more than a year and a half ago the cook still would put a little extra on her plate at every chance that she could. As a result, Kira felt obligated to continue to eat long after she felt full.

"Kira, the point of hanging around is to get to know some of the other riders. To develop friendships. And who knows, maybe you could even get a few pointers from the others if you just hang around them enough." He saw Kira opening her mouth to refuse the idea that she needed anyone else so he continued, "You may be surprised if you took the time to get to know some of the other riders. You could actually like them. Just promise me that you'll try lingering a bit after the races. There isn't a reason to rush straight home afterwards."

Ben suddenly got a flash to back when his own children were Kira's age and his problems were a bit different. With them, he'd have to enforce strict curfews and limit some of their friends when they chose those that he considered to be bad influences. He couldn't imagine telling either of them to not come straight home after an evening out. Kira, on the other hand, needed to be encouraged to leave the house and to seek out the companionship of others her own age. As it was, the only time she left the house was for school, to ride her motorcycle and to sit in court when he'd invite her to join him for a day at the office.

Kira didn't really want to get to know any of the other riders. What was the point? Still, if Ben wanted her to then she supposed that she could at least go out like she had the night before. At times, watching others could be entertaining. Besides, she could admit to herself that she had been curious about what all the other riders had planned once they met up after the race. It had been why she had followed them the night before in the first place.

"Alright. I'll try to hang out for a while, I guess."

"Good." Ben smiled at Kira's promise since he'd yet to see her break her word. He may not be able to actually make friends for her but he could encourage her to be available to those who would be interested in pursuing a friendship with her.

Satisfied, he then changed the conversation back to Kira's schooling since that has always been a subject that she was most comfortable with. At the change he noticed that she relaxed a bit more that proved that she was still uncomfortable with the subject of interacting with others. Still, it was an accomplishment to get her to agree to at least put herself out there for the possibility of meeting new people. For Ben, that was enough for now.

By the beginning of summer Kira had raced in several Motocross races and even placed second in the last one. Now Kira was stowing her bike back onto her pickup truck after a day of racing once more. Today she had fought hard to maintain a placing of tenth against some racers that she hadn't seen at most of the other tracks in the area. She tried to not feel like a failure in not placing higher but she thought that she should have done better. Already she was thinking over her schedule for the following week to see when she could fit in some extra practice.

On the other end of the infield, she saw several of the other racers congratulating each other on a good race. Many of the regulars that Kira raced with could be heard making plans to meet up in one of the roadhouses that had become a regular haunt for the racers. She'd been there a couple of times after the races but she rarely stayed long. As Kira finished tying her bike down she looked up to see one of the other racers walking her way. Once he reached the truck he easily hopped up onto the tailgate as he gave an easy smile.

"What do you want, Duke?" Kira asked brusquely as she motioned for him to get off so she could close the tailgate.

"I just figured I'd invite you along to join us out at Tony's, is all," Jebb said as he slid off of the tailgate. The old roadhouse was a favorite of the riders when they were in the area and would meet up there at every chance that they got. "I've seen you show up at some of the after race parties before and figured you'd might have a better time if you went with some friends."

"Friends?" Kira cocked her brow at the implication. "I don't think-"

"Come on. If you have a miserable time you can always just leave." Jebb leaned against the truck and gave a look that told Kira that he wasn't about to budge until she agreed to join him and the others at the bar. After a moment's hesitation she blow out a breath in aggravation before she answered him.

"Fine. But don't expect me to join in any of that juvenile shit that ya'll do just because you think it's funny."

Jebb smiled as Kira mentioned some of the pranks that he and his friends would engage in from time to time. Not to mention that each of them have gone through a type of an initiation that had become a tradition among the racers for longer than he'd been a part of the group. Personally, as tightly wound up as Kira always seemed to be, he figured that a few lighthearted pranks and jokes was exactly what she needed but he figured that he could forgo them for now.

"Fair enough." Jebb then headed back to his friends. He'd already had a longer conversation with the redhead than anyone else on the circuit. He figured he'd not push his luck for now. At least he got her to agree to join him and his friends for the night.

Kira nervously looked toward the groups of tables that held the half-dozen or so young men and women who raced on the Motocross circuit in the area. Ordinarily she'd sit at a table alone for about an hour or so, just enough so that she could go home with an enough of a delay that Ben would think that she'd tried to make friends while out for a day of racing. She'd watch the various goings on from across the room with curious interest at times but she'd never joined the others before tonight.

After taking a deep breath and putting on a face of disinterest before heading over to the table, Kira walked over and turned a chair around before straddling it without bothering if anyone minded that she joined them. After all, Jebb had already invited her to join the group. She noticed the looks of surprise on the faces of the other racers but she tried to ignore them.

"Guys, I asked Kira to join us tonight. Figured that we could all lick our wounds together after we were all showed up by those riders today." Jebb explained as he mentioned the group of riders who had shown up at the race and took most of the places at the end of the race.

At the mention of needing to lick her wounds, Kira gave a dirty look to Jebb as another rider spoke up.

"At least you didn't do to badly. You still took second. What I don't get is why those guys were at the race in the first place. They usually race in races several divisions above us."

"Who knows. Maybe they just wanted to make themselves feel like they are better at racing than they really are if they need to drop down a division or two." Jebb shrugged.

Charlie crinkled his nose at the idea of older racers choosing to race him and his friends as a way to make themselves look good if they had been losing races in their own division. "At least they took Kinnison out in the first race. The way he races is dangerous. If anything, at least those guys made sure he'll be out for the rest of the season with that busted leg. So, now that we're here, who's up for a little fun?"

The other racers began to throw out various ideas for things that they could do while making their way through a couple pitchers of beer. Some of them also indulged in some glasses of the local whiskey. As more alcohol was drunk, the wilder the suggestions got. Finally, the young adults agreed to enjoy a night of karaoke.

"Karaoke?" Kira muttered under her breath just loud enough for Jebb, who was sitting next to her, to hear. "I don't sing."

Jebb laughed before he explained, "Neither do most of the others. That isn't the point."

"Then what is?"

"To have fun," Jebb said as if the answer was obvious. "This isn't just any kind of karaoke. If they mess up a line then they have to take off an article of clothing. The one at the end of their song with the most clothing on wins."

"Wins what?"

"Nothing. Just bragging rights. Want to join?"

"Don't hold your breath." Kira shook her head. "I told you before I came that I had no plans to join in any of your usual immature fun and games."

"Alright," Jebb held up to show he gave up for the night. "I just figured I'd ask in case you'd changed your mind. You look like you could use a little immature fun and games."

Kira rolled her eyes and reached for her beer that she'd been nursing for the last half hour. Maybe it was time for her to leave out for the night. She didn't have any desire to stick around to see just how badly the group sang to the music that was about to be played. And she could honestly tell Ben that she'd joined the other riders for a while after the race.